2. J3y the Spirit: 1 Cor. ii. 12, 'Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things that are freely given us of God.' The Spirit of God is necessary, tliat we may believe the dnctrine of the gospel, and cure our worldly and sensual inclinations ; for who else will be brought to for- sake the things which he seeth and loveth, for a God and a glory which be never saw ?
3. By faith, which is a persuasion of the truth of such things as God hath revealed, because God hath revealed them : 1 John iv. 16, ' And we have known, and believed, the love which God hath to us.' It is matter of faith to believe the love and care of God over his people.
4. Experience. The persuasion, witli application, increaseth our confidence. His love to us in particular is known by what he hath wrought in us and for us ; and tliis increaseth our persuasion, and brevdeth in us a holy confidence : 2 Cor. i. 10, ' Who hath delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver ; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;' 2 Tim. iv. 17, 18, 'Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work.' la this persuasion, confirmed, seasoned, experienced christians do continue, who have not only a true faith in Christ, and a settled love to him, but such as maketh up an evidence in their conscience of their sincerity, and giveth an undoubted persuasion of his love to them.
[1.] They are such as are rooted and grounded in faith. The full comfort of Christianity is reserved for such as are described by the apostle : Col. i. 23, ' If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.' There is an initial faith which may wither, as the grace of the second aud third ground ; and there is a rooted faith, which will be supported and main- tained in the good and honest heart. Therefore it is not sufficient once to assent to the truth of the gospel in our understandings, or embrace the good things offered to us by our will and affections ; but we must be rooted and grounded in the faith. Fluctuating opinion.
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without a well-grounded persuasion, will not serve the turn. Some slight desires and afiections to blessedness to come will not maintain us against the several blasts of so many temptations as we meet with ; but we must get a faith that will make us indifferent to all worldly things, ' height or depth, life or death.' The sound, world-conquering faith, will only give us safety, and, I am sure, will only give us com- fort : 1 John v. 4, ' For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world : and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.' Such a sound belief of blessedness to come maketh us dead to the present world.
[2.] Such as are rooted and grounded in love. A taste may fail, Heb. vi. 3, 4, A slender, insufficient touch of the love of God upon the soul will not break the force of opposite inclinations and temptations : Eph. iii. 17, 18, 19, ' That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able with all saints to comprehend what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.' A sincere love doth so fasten us to Christ, that no tempta- tion is able to shake us or unloose us, for they are acquainted more and more with Christ's love, and admire it, are ravished by it, feel the effects of it. The ' breadth ' noteth the great blessings we have by it, or the ample privileges of the new covenant ; the ' length,' the duration of it, from one eternity to another ; the ' depth ' of it, his profound condescension, fetching us out of hell itself by a painful, cursed, and ignominious death ; the ' height,' as it raised us up to the glory of heaven, and that everlasting blessedness. Now none are said to com- prehend this but those that are rooted and grounded in love ; that is, to comprehend them to their comfort and joy, to comprehend it to their conquest and victory over temptations, to comprehend it as their triumph and confidence ; none but those whose hearts are filled with the love of God, and deep experience of his grace in Christ, that have not taken up soine light thoughts about it, but are deeply overcome and possessed with a sense of his love, whose heart and soul is towards God ; and his wonderful love in Christ is the root and foundation of all their religion. Now these thorough christians, who are rooted and grounded in faith and love, they are not so much believers in conflict as believers in triumph ; and whereas others make a hard shift to get to heaven with much labour, both of flesh and spirit, and many doubts and fears, they keep up a continual rejoicing in God, and find little or no trouble or disturbance in the spiritual life. Lusts are more morti- fied, and Satan is discouraged, and they are assisted with a larger ex- perience of grace than others receive.